Rick Belden
Rick Belden is the author of Iron Man Family Outing, a book of poetry that explores men's issues, family relationships, relationships between men and women, male sexuality, dreams, and recovery from childhood abuse. Iron Man Family Outing is widely used in the United States and internationally by therapists, counselors, and men’s groups as an aid in the exploration of masculine psychology and men’s issues, especially for men who are adult survivors of childhood abuse. Rick lives in Austin, TX.Visit Author's Website
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in this dream
I’m looking at an old family photo
25-year-old black + white
mother father brother + me
the classic easter pose in the yard
outside grandpa + grandma’s house
my focus is on my dad
he’s so young
younger than I am now
and he looks so scared!
I feel compassion + tenderness for this
frightened young man who took on too much
a family [...]
elephant dream
I have in my care three elephants
two males
one female
they are very sick
from too much time in the heat of the sun
they’ve come to a place of shade and safety now
but they’re dying
the female is the sickest.
they have large ragged holes in their skins
burned into them by an unforgiving sun
weak and withered
dried and dying
drained of power
they [...]
god at eleven
god is an overdue library book
an empty sardine can
an angry santa claus.
god is a school bus full of strangers
a sixty on the test
a dad who’s always pissed
a mom with scar tissue.
god is a prison guard with rheumatic fever
a flying squirrel in a cage
a deformed colt in a field
a member of the john birch society.
god still [...]
